Body armor

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Body armor is armor worn on the body. The two most valued varieties are the mithril-coat in the early game and dragon scale mail as part of an ascension kit. Neither of these can be corroded or otherwise damaged, and they provide an excellent AC reduction for their weight. The only problem with the mithril-coat is that it impedes spellcasting.

Name Cost Weight AC Weight/AC Material MC Appearance
leather jacket 10 30 1 30 leather 0
leather armor 5 150 2 75 leather 1
orcish ring mail 80 250 2 125 iron 1 crude ring mail
studded leather armor 15 200 3 66.7 leather 1
ring mail 100 250 3 83.3 iron 1
scale mail 45 250 4 62.5 iron 1
orcish chain mail 75 300 4 75 iron 1 crude chain mail
chain mail 75 300 5 60 iron 1
elven mithril-coat 240 150 5 30 mithril 2
splint mail 80 400 6 66.7 iron 1
banded mail 90 350 6 58.3 iron 1
dwarvish mithril-coat 240 150 6 25 mithril 2
bronze plate mail 400 450 6 75 bronze 1
plate mail (tanko) 600 450 7 64.3 iron 2
crystal plate mail 820 450 7 64.3 glass 2
dragon scales 500 40 3 13.3 dragon hide 0
dragon scale mail 900 40 9 4.4 dragon hide 0

Dragon scale mail

The single most valued item of body armor is dragon scale mail. For 40 weight, it reduces your AC by 9, provides a useful extrinsic property (depending on the color of dragon it came from), and does not corrode or impede spellcasting. The two most coveted varieties of dragon scale mail are gray, which provides magic resistance, and silver, which gives reflection.

Strategy

While body armor is often heavy, it can provide a significant boost to your AC. The most desirable body armor in the early game is a mithril-coat, which is relatively light and gives a good AC bonus.

Variants

In variants that derive from NetHack 3.4.3, mithril coats provide an MC of 3.